This is the final
volume in Marston’s edition devoted
to the art on record of that most
puzzling of great pianists, Leopold
Godowsky. As before presentation is
all one could wish for – the biographical
essay and musical analyses, the discographical
information and most importantly the
transfers which capture the recording
studio ambience and Godowsky’s tone
very well indeed. Added to this the
exceptionally well reproduced photographs
and you have, once again, a class
act, one that treats its material
with respect.

The first block of
recordings is the electric Brunswicks.
They frequently revisited previous
performances and offered remakes in
better sound. And as so often during
the course of this titan’s studio
career the results vary alarmingly.
His Rubinstein Melody in F (September
1926) is elegant and pleasing whilst
his Chopin Waltz in C sharp minor,
recorded the same day, is rather cursory
and stand offish. Move forward four
days and we find his Tchaikovsky Barcarole
(June) is poetically inflected though
a further three days later and his
Chopin Etudes are less persuasive.
One of the high peaks of his recording
career lay in the two Schubert transcriptions,
which have such delicious colouration,
such moving delicacy (and highly elastic
rubato) that they silence all doubters.
The sheer poetry of the playing must
come somewhere near the kind of performances
that Godowsky gave privately and which
all his confreres noted.

It wasn’t until relatively
late in his recording career that
he tackled large-scale works. These
major statements were made in London
for English Columbia. Schumann’s Carnaval
is an impressive though occasionally
serious-stolid performance, vitiated
by a little rhythmic uncertainty early
on. Godowsky takes the Chopin
movement in a very unsentimental,
cool, way and this is pretty much
a touchstone of the performance as
a whole; not objectified, not detached
but slightly remote nevertheless despite
the powerful final March. The Grieg
Ballade on the other hand is one of
the most complete statements ever
made on it on disc. As with Andsnes’s
recent recording of it – from which
it differs quite considerably - the
work takes on considerable stature
when played with as much intellectual
and colouristic control as here; and
here I disagree with the sleeve note
writer on the implicit status of the
music. I don’t find it bombastic at
all.

After the heights
of the Grieg we find that the Beethoven
E flat sonata, the Farewell, fares
less well. It’s non-committal in the
way that so many of Godowsky’s recorded
performances of the central repertoire
are apt to be, and seldom really demonstrates
a definite affinity. The selection
of Chopin Nocturnes however has moments
of veiled beauty. The middle section
of Op 15 No.2 in F sharp is especially
beguiling and is spun with superb
refinement. Then there’s the evocative
and beautifully voiced C sharp minor
Op.27 No.1, perhaps his finest recording
of a Nocturne on disc. The B flat
minor Sonata receives a characterful,
digitally superior reading though
Godowsky’s rubati in the Scherzo –
like a coracle on a choppy river -
are certainly extreme and a rare example
of mannerism in his performances.

Talking of Chopin
we have a rare survival from his final
session, the one during which he suffered
the stroke that effectively ended
his public career. It’s the Fourth
Scherzo, in E, and it is truly an
amazing performance, one that should
be heard by all who have an interest
in Godowsky’s art. The first side
is taken from a dub – and it’s in
relatively poor shape – whilst the
second is taken from the test pressing
itself and is much better. Don’t give
up when you first start because this
is a titanic performance, full of
drive, verve and tensile commitment.
It must be close at least to the way
Godowsky was heard in private, when
his performances were said to be so
extraordinary, freed of the shackles
of studio or concert hall expectation.
In addition to this there is a private
recording from 1935 (it’s almost certain
that it’s Godowsky playing) of a movement
from the Java Suite. And as if that
isn’t enough to whet your appetite
there are three alternative takes
and a selection of Godowsky compositions
recorded during his lifetime – with
one exception – by Saperton, Schiøler,
Backhaus, Pouishnoff, Cherkassky,
Gilels and Isabelle Yalkovsky. The
exception is Saperton whose two Chopin-Godowsky
Studies derive from an unissued 1940
Victor disc.

In many ways this
is the most important of the three
Godowsky volumes issued by Marston.
All the big works that he recorded
are here, in fine sound; the tremendous
Scherzo rarity and the private Java
suite extract as well. In all, though,
this comprehensive salute to Godowsky
has been realised with tremendous
care and remarkable dedication.

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